WILMINGTON — It is an ancient craft that began with the Polynesians. Once steeped in spirituality and rituals, it began as a tribute to the ocean.
Long boards of wili-wili or koa wood were carved and shaped by hand with respect and precision into simple vessels of surf. Today mass-produced, foam surfboards dominate the industry but cutting edge surfboard shapers are increasingly returning to their roots and paying homage to an old craft.
Ian Balding is one of these craftsmen bringing surfing back to its earliest foundations, creating beautiful boards out of wood.
Ian Balding grew up in Rumson, N.J., but trips to Virginia Beach to visit his dedicated surfer uncle laid the foundation early on for a life-long love of surfing and a career in board building.
“My aunt and uncle owned a lot down in Rodanthe on the Outer Banks, with an old RV trailer on it, which is where I surfed my first wave. You needed four-wheel drive to get back to the shack and driving on the beach to the surf was all part of what lured me in. I loved the ruggedness of the surf lifestyle and I’ve basically been chasing that feeling ever since,” he said.
His uncle also happened to be good friends with Bill Frierson, who was one of the early owners and shapers of the WRV brand in Virginia Beach.
“Every year when I went down for vacation, I would snatch up a new board on my visit to the shop. My time spent there was a huge influence,” he said. “I always loved building things and figuring out how things worked. So when I was pulling boards off the racks, I wasn’t just looking at the cool airbrushes. I was studying the curves and shapes. As a teenager, every time I could get the attention of a board builder, I would sponge up as much knowledge as I could.”
These days, from his workshop and studio in Wilmington, Balding uses the skillful techniques of old world craftsmanship, to build his surfboards and paddleboards for a growing and loyal clientele base from Hawaii to North Carolina.
He began by building boards for himself, applying carpentry skills learned from his father and grandfather.
“I learned carpentry and building from my father and grandfather as a young kid, and my natural curiosity taught me the basics of glassing along the way too. With the birth of stand up paddling, I started building my own blanks, and milling and gluing up my own stringers for the boards,” he said.
“I refer to myself as a board builder as opposed to a shaper because I do much more than just turn a rough blank into a finished shape,” he said. “If all I did was take a pre-formed blank and shape it, then take it to a glass shop to be glassed, I might consider myself a shaper, but I typically take it a few steps further.”
Twenty years ago, Balding took a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands where he crossed paths with an ex-pat American building Balsa wood surfboards. For him it was the perfect opportunity to combine his love of carpentry and surfboards.
“Being a bit of a traditionalist, I dove into some of the old school wood board building techniques. My goal was always to build beautiful boards that surf as good as they look.”
Balding builds his boards using a number of different species of wood that will give the right strength to weight ratio. Balsa wood is used for most of the boards that will actually be surfed on, because they are known to be heavier and best for choppy conditions. For the stringers, he uses red cedar or redwood, which provide strength and add to the overall design of the board.
“I love wood boards for a number of reasons, but mostly the combination of look and feel. I also love the challenge of building them,” Balding said. “It sharpens all of my skills, because they aren’t easy to build. And the beauty and soul in those boards just never gets old. From a riders perspective, wood boards are significantly different from what’s now the norm, but in the right application they can’t be beat.”
Inspiration for Balding and his boards comes from some very unlikely sources. From the shape of the blades on his ceiling fan to the thin white sliver of soap in his outdoor shower, he is constantly observing and paying attention to detail.
“I drank some water from a new glass in the cabinet the other day, and while peering into it, I really liked the outline the water was forming when I was half way through,” laughs Balding. “One of my favorite design concepts is to take my favorite shapes and forms from the past and add my vision to it, and modernize it from a functionality standpoint.”
Lots of things go into making a good board. Like any good relationship, communication is key. So he listens intently to what clients tells him they want in a board. Everyone is different physically and everyone has a unique approach to riding waves or paddling.
“I take all of that into consideration when making custom boards. The board needs to float them properly, catch waves easily and basically make it easier for the rider to surf or paddle the way they see themselves surfing or paddling. A little bit of a challenge depending on their ability is also a good thing. Creating a little room to grow into a board, and progress without going too far is a challenge for me, but one that I enjoy as part of the process,” Balding said.
Balding still rides a Balsa board he crafted 20 years ago and every time he catches a wave in his favorite spot on the Outer Banks, the beauty of a wooden board is reinforced.
“Once you learn how to harness its capabilities, there is an absolute heightened connection to nature. It’s the whole “tree to sea” thing,” he said. “I mean you’re riding a wave that was pushed for miles across an ocean by a storm, to where the water meets the land, on a board that was built, shaped and glassed by hand, from a tree that grew out of the earth. And you’re there to meet it. If you don’t feel that connection, you might want to check your pulse.”
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